Greetings and salutations, true, blue believers,
Bob Nasser, Paul Porto, and Collin Agee are all out this month. We look forward to them returning in May with continuing education for you on mechanics, rules, and umpire interest stories.
You should be receiving Bob’s team’s weekly quizzes via email, with the last edition on April 13th also being quiz #13. As a reminder, if you are not receiving these quizzes or other association communication, please make sure your email address in Arbiter is correct, and please send an email to association webmaster Jim Clayton, [email protected], with your correct email, and don’t forget to check your spam settings and add [email protected] to your email address book to help ensure you are receiving all association email communications.
And now (as they used to say on Monty Python’s Flying Circus) for something COMPLETELY different…association president Dave Maher is here as always this month, but he’s not exactly in his usual spot. You guys have all been out there working hard covering a ton of baseball games across the 703, the 202, and the 301, and as a reward for all of that hard work, dedication, and professionalism, please head over to see and hear Dave’s special monthly address right here.
From my earliest days with the association, I learned very quickly that all of us out here serving the game as umpires have a story. How did we get here? What drives us? Most of us tell our non-umpire friends, family, and acquaintances that we are umpires, and we get some form of, “Oh dear…why would anyone ever want to do that?” And when we re-launched Blue Crew News, I was determined to uncover those stories and ensure they were told. This month, I am pleased to introduce the subject of The Gary Reals Profile…Maryland umpire and MSBL Hall of Famer and legend…Duane Cordrey. As usual, I don’t know what’s more moving…Duane’s story, or how well Gary tells it. For Reals on Cordrey, go here.
Next up this month, we are pleased to launch the first in a series of spotlights on Hall of Fame umpires. Like many of the good ideas here at Blue Crew News, these Hall of Fame umpire features were the brainchild of newsletter co-editor Mike Chmar. 10 men… since Major League Baseball began in 1876, 150 years ago, just 10 men have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, as umpires. This month’s Hall of Fame spotlight shines a light on Al Barlick. Brother Barlick was known as one of the loudest umpires in the game and was respected by his fellow umpires and the players for his professionalism and enforcement of the rules. Don’t miss the Al Barlick spotlight here.
As a friendly reminder, most Friday nights during the high school baseball season, many umpires meet up at Glory Days Grill in the Old Centreville Shopping Center located at 13850 Braddock Road, Centreville, VA 20121, and all are welcome. If that location is not convenient for you and you’d like to host another “Friday Night Watering Hole”, drop us a line here at [email protected], and we’ll help you get the word out.
Speaking of watering holes…whether you go to next Friday’s edition of that tradition or not, don’t forget to hoist a toast with your favorite beverage to the tradition and legacy of The Wendelstedt Umpire School in Daytona Beach, Florida. The school has not officially closed, and of course, the baseball world is hoping they can retool and continue to provide the same world-class training to umpires across all levels of the game in light of the news that Major League Baseball will be bringing the training and development of its umpires under the league’s purview.
Excelsior,
~Robert Fobian
Editor, Blue Crew News